After the former principle, a choir instructor, and a retired teacher were arrested within the last month in connection with an investigation into sexual misbehavior at St. Helens High School, Charlotte Ellis will begin her role as acting principal on Wednesday.
According to the district, Ellis will be joined by Ken Parshall, a former Jefferson County School District administrator who will help and mentor the high school’s administrative team.
Ellis, 51, was previously Tillamook School District No. 9’s director of teaching and learning. She served as the Yakima School District’s executive director of school leadership and accountability in Washington before taking on the roles of principal at Pasco Stevens Middle School and assistant principle at Pasco High School for slightly over seven years.
As she begins to run the high school, she promised to prioritize the kids.
She stated in a statement that she is incredibly proud to serve the St. Helens community and that she is committed to listening with empathy, responding with care and compassion, and working tirelessly to restore the trust that is vital to our community and schools. Raising our students’ voices and making sure they are respected and heard is a crucial component of our endeavor. In my role as a servant leader, I always put the needs of my students first and act in their best interests. I am eager to get started on this significant task right away.
She will concentrate on bringing the school administration under control, mending the bonds between students, faculty, and families, and trying to create a welcoming and safe learning environment.
After retiring as the superintendent of the Jefferson County School District at the end of June 2021, Parshall, 61, has been working as a leadership coach and consultant for school development. He has been the principal of Crook County High School from 2000 to 2003 and the principal of Warms Springs K-8 Academy before taking over as superintendent in July 2017.
The 45-year-old principal Kathryn Katy M. Wagner was put on paid leave earlier this month and entered a not guilty plea last week in Columbia County Circuit Court to a six-count indictment alleging that she neglected to provide care for students under her supervision between November 2018 and November 26, 2024, and that she failed to notify police or state authorities of sexual abuse complaints involving two teachers as required by law.
Two weeks after the arrests of retired high school math teacher Mark Collins and high school choir teacher Eric Stearns, Wagner was indicted.
The 46-year-old Stearns is charged with the abuse of six pupils from 2015 until 2024. On seven counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of third-degree sex abuse, he entered a not guilty plea. On two counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse, Collins, 64, entered a not guilty plea. He is charged with mistreating three pupils beginning in 2017.
Following the teachers’ arrests, the high school saw a student walkout, the chair of the school board resigned, Wagner and school superintendent Scot Stockwell were placed on paid administrative leave, Acting Superintendent Steve Webb was appointed, and an independent investigation was conducted to look into the district’s mandatory reporting policies, staff ethics, training, and culture.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You may contact her at [email protected], 503-221-8212, or follow her on LinkedIn or X@maxoregonian.
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